no boot over nfs

which console device do you use ? jtag or rs232?

In kernel menuconfig, you should select either jtag uart or serial uart for console device (but not both).

Device Drivers ---> Character devices ---> Serial drivers --->

if you use jtag uart (with a USB Blaster cable) on a nios2-terminal,

[ ] Nios serial support

[*] Altera JTAG UART support

[*] Support for console on Altera JTAG UART

if you use serial uart (with a 9-pin RS-232C cable) on a terminal emulator such as minicom or ckermit,

[*] Nios serial support

[*] Support for console on Nios UART

[ ] Altera JTAG UART support

The console device will use /dev/console node.

Yes, you need to create all /dev nodes or copy them from initamfs.

Do you get the shell prompt?